It's become a recurring theme of Manchester City's Champions League nights – but why do their fans boo the competition anthem before kick off?

The origins are complicated. It goes as far back as 2012 when City were a Europa League side. The Blues took on Porto and Mario Balotelli, their former striker, was racially abused by the Porto fans. UEFA found Porto guilty and fined them a paltry €20,000.

A few weeks later, they faced Sporting Lisbon and returned to the pitch after half-time “up to 60 seconds” later than due. They were fined €30,000 for their offence and so began a deteriorating relationship between the club's supporters and the European governing body.

Then came Financial Fair Play (FFP), an initiative dreamt up by Michel Platini, which the City fans saw as a blatant attempt to halt their progress. Europe's established elite weren't keen on City's wealth altering the landscape and they wanted to slow them down.

FFP essentially limited the amount of money that wealthy owners could pump into their squad, linking money spent on transfers to the amount they made.

City were deemed to have flouted FFP rules in 2014. They were fine £49million and had a Champions League squad restriction placed on them. Their fine was distributed between the other Champions League clubs!

Then came the Moscow debacle. City's game with CSKA was set to be played behind closed doors after the Russian club's fans were found guilty of repeated crowd disturbances, including racist chanting. As it turned out, City fans weren't allowed in – but hundreds of CSKA supporters were.

City fans feel persecuted by UEFA and, as a result, now make their feelings known before each Champions League match.